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Update: Central Resource Upgrade
As you know, we're making areas of Central Resource Library even better in 2021! Here's a little peek at what's been going on behind the scenes.
During April, crews installed a new boiler and completed MakerSpace improvements. In addition, shoring was installed for new exterior openings, existing precast walls were removed, and new wall framing installed. Demo work began at the Drive-Thru addition.
We know you may have many questions about what to expect this year, so we’ve put together a Construction FAQ that addresses the status of popular services like the Black & Veatch MakerSpace and Genealogy resources, more details about Little Central, and where to find alternate services. You’ll also find a Fly-Through video rendering of the project.
In addition to its public service staff, Central is home to many departments that support all 14 branches. Once the work at Central is complete, you will feel the positive impact across the Library system!
Photos provided by Construction Manager, Titan Built, LLC.
This Week at the Library
This week at the Library, you can join us for:
One-on-One Genealogy Help
Tuesday, May 18, 9 AM – 1 PM
Basic Genealogy and DNA one-on-one help are now being held online via Zoom specific to your questions and research. Visit Johnson County Genealogical Society to schedule an appointment. A volunteer will email a personal Zoom meeting link to you prior to the scheduled date.
Antioch Library Replacement Project: Information and Listening Session
Wednesday, May 19, 6 – 7 PM
Antioch Library is relocating to the Merriam Community Center campus, and we want to hear from you. In this session, you will meet the architects, learn about the project and their community involvement process, and ideate about your future library. Learn more about the Antioch Library Replacement Project and ways of engagement via Library OnDemand.
Maintain Your Ride
Thursday, May 20, Noon – 1:30 PM
DIY bike maintenance made simple! Now a virtual class - register to get the link to our live Zoom webinar. Get your hands dirty and learn to keep your bike in tip-top shape with this FREE class from Johnson County Library and BikeWalkKC! Our instructors will teach you how to keep your bike in good working order with a few basic tools and some practical know-how.
Walk and Read
All Day
“Take a walk and read a book.” Not normally sound advice, but that is exactly what Johnson County Library is suggesting families do this week at Blackhawk Park, Spring Hill, (near intersection of Webster/Harrison Street and 223rd Street). Walk and Read creates a family reading experience in the great outdoors! Families who participate will read two stories posted around the path, one going each direction. When you finish one story, you can flip around to the other side of the sign and begin the next story, which will lead you back around the path.
TBT: May You Be Well-Rested
As you very well know, May is Better Sleep Month!
Check out this "sleeping facility" for overflow troops on the grounds of the Olathe Naval Air Station in 1947. We found this photo and so many more at jocohistory.org with the search term "sleep." Such a fun way to time travel through local history. What will you find?
Have a happy Throwback Thursday! Some call it the best day of the week. Be sure to follow our hashtag on Twitter!
Is your bike ready?
Join us for a fantastic online event, Maintain Your Ride! This Thursday, May 20, 2021, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM
DIY bike maintenance made simple! Now a virtual class - register to get the link to our live Zoom webinar.
Get your hands dirty and learn to keep your bike in tip-top shape with this FREE class from Johnson County Library and BikeWalkKC! Our instructors will teach you how to keep your bike in good working order with a few basic tools and some practical know-how.
Where: Your home! BWKC will send you a link to a Zoom webinar for LIVE instruction at the same date and time as the in-person class was originally scheduled.
Summer Reading Launches with Can't-Miss Event!
Don't miss this: Summer Reading Launch Keynote Speaker: Kwame Alexander
Newbery medal winner and New York Times bestselling author Kwame Alexander shares a bit of conversation, a dash of storytelling, and a splash of performance to engage young readers. As Alexander says, "Books are cool like amusement parks, and sometimes you gotta let the kids choose the rides!" A performance for all ages. Registration is required.
Imagine Your New Library
Johnson County Library is excited to have begun the design process for the new Library in Merriam. And we want to hear from YOU!
The current Antioch Library has been a fixture in the Merriam community for over 60 years; staff and patrons alike have many fond memories of the building – some having visited Antioch their entire lives.
The new building will be located just a few blocks away on the campus of the Merriam Community Center. This summer we are developing the design for the replacement Library with an eye toward the future, ensuring we are able to meet the changing needs of the community over time.
The first public input session will be held online Wednesday, May 19, from 6 – 7:30 p.m.
Additional dates for public input sessions will be announced on jocolibrary.org/AntiochReplacement and @jocolibrary on social media. Construction is anticipated to occur after the design is finalized with completion in 2023.
We are excited to hear how we can continue to serve the community for years to come.
This Week at the Library
This week at the Library, you can join us for:
Poetry Reading with Traci Brimhall – Tuesday, May 11, 6:30 – 7:30 PM
Traci Brimhall’s fourth collection Come the Slumberless to the Land of Nod weaves between essays and poems to explore becoming a new mother during the trial for her friend's murder. She will read both nonfiction and poetry that came from this time in her life and talk about the ways love and grief are related in poems. She will also discuss the writing process for both nonfiction and poetry, and the ways they inform each other and diverge.
Craft Talk with Traci Brimhall– Wednesday, May 12, 6:30 – 7:30 PM
Love is more than the ecstatic--it is in the daily actions and affections. Grief happens far beyond the focal point of a funeral. Two of our major experiences as humans happen to us again and again, yet so often poems focus on the falling in love or the moment of loss rather than how those we love and lose endure across so many moments in a single day. In this lecture, we will examine poetry that uses repetition for both love poems and elegies.
Walk and Read – Thursday, May 13, All Day
“Take a walk and read a book.” Not normally sound advice, but that is exactly what Johnson County Library is suggesting families do this week at Antioch Park, 6501 Antioch Rd. Walk and Read creates a family reading experience in the great outdoors! Families who participate will read two stories posted around the path, one going each direction. When you finish one story, you can flip around to the other side of the sign and begin the next story, which will lead you back around the path.
One-On-One Genealogy Help – Friday, May 14, 9 AM – 1 PM
Basic Genealogy and DNA one-on-one help are now being held online via Zoom specific to your questions and research. Visit Johnson County Genealogical Society to schedule an appointment. A volunteer will email a personal Zoom meeting link to you prior to the scheduled date.
The Poetry Episode
It's another Did you hear? podcast episode with Shannon, Jack, Charles and Dave!
In this episode, we offer closure to poetry month and suggest poetry should not be confined to a single month. We crammed this episode full—like an over-stuffed el grande burrito—with flavorful content from all kinds of tasty angles. (OK, we're not poets, but we love poetry!)
- Hear poets featured in elementia
- A look back at our Poetry Walk and how it lives on digitally
- Exciting upcoming poetry writing programs and a visit from an impressive author
- Physical art as poetry
- What happened to KCUR's New Letters on the Air?
- Our haikus!
- Your haikus!
- And the latest installment of In Search of Paul Rudd
All this and more! It's the Poetry episode and it's not to be missed. When is this delightful episode available? Right now!
Meet the Author: Traci Brimhall
We are so excited to welcome award-winning poet, essayist, and children's book author Traci Brimhall to Johnson County Library for three virtual events next week! Join us for one or all of the following:
- May 11th at 6:30 pm: Poetry Reading: Eros and Thanatos: A Conversation on Love and Elegy in Poems
- May 12th at 6:30 pm: They Come Back: Memory in the Love Poem and Elegy
- May 15th at 9 am: Workshop: They Come Back: Memory in the Love Poem and Elegy
See more detailed descriptions and register »